Hitsuzen Of The Heart
by Jamie1317kast
Summary: A tall stranger appears at Yuko’s shop, clad all in black even though it’s the middle of summer. He has a wish, but Watanuki has a feeling that it will go ungranted…who is this man, and what does he want with Yuko?
1. The Man In Black

Hitsuzen Of The Heart

By, Jamie1317kast

A tall stranger appears at Yuko's shop, clad all in black even though it's the middle of summer. He has a wish, but Watanuki has a feeling that it will go un-granted…who is this man, and what does he want with Yuko?

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except Jamie Peterson, so don't sue me. Don't steal him, or I'll hunt you down with Yuko's metal bat.

Rated PG-13, perhaps R later on.

The Man In Black:

" THAT DARN DOMEKI!"

Watanuki stormed down the street, once again caught up in his explosive habit-like anger when it came to his best friend. " It's all his fault, making me go out and buy him umeboshi onigiri so he can eat it before archery club!" He raged again, closing his eyes and shaking his fist.

" And now I'm late for wo- OUCH!"

Watanuki's bag went skidding across the sidewalk and he fell backwards onto his butt. The man he'd just bumped into had been knocked backward onto the pavement. Watanuki stood up quickly, apologizing.

" I-I'm sorry! I didn't see you there!"

The man just laughed and picked himself up. And up and up and up. Watanuki couldn't help but stare. Not only did the man seem to stretch up into the clouds but he was covered from head to foot in a long black traveling cloak and a wide-brimmed hat which shaded his face from the hot summer sun. He wore a black scarf like a ninja, around his head and over his nose, leather gloves, and sun glasses. Most people on the sidewalk were going out of their way to avoid him. " I- Gosh, you're tall…"

" Yeah, well, fate's funny that way." He looked off and when Watanuki followed the man's gaze he found that they were already in front of Yuko's shop.

" Would you like to come in for tea?"

" Do you work here?"

" Yeah."

" Why not then?"

" Right."

Right.

Watanuki pushed open the front doors and was immediately tackled by Maru and Moro. " Watanuki's home!" They chimed together. " Hey girls," He smiled. " Where's Yuko? We've got a guest today."

Maru and Moro bounded around Watanuki to get a better look at the newcomer and stopped dead in their tracks. He looked back also just in time to the man taking off his sun glasses. Intense, Egyptian-blue eyes stared back at him.

The two girls gave shrill squeals of terror and bolted down the hall. " Mistress! Mistress!"

Watanuki shook his head and motioned after them. " Sorry about that, they're usual very…well, polite to everyone who comes in here."

" It's alright," The man said, now pocketing his sun glasses inside the inky darkness of his traveling cloak. " It's happened before."

" Um," Watanuki groped for something to say. " So, why were you standing outside the gates? You could have just walked in, the shop's open."

Before the man could answer, Yuko appeared in a doorway at the end of the hall, Maru and Moro hiding behind her. " I'll be the one asking the questions here, Watanuki." She did not look pleased, in fact, Yuko looked angry.

Her black kimono rippled behind her as she walked and the red roses seemed far too real to be fabric. Her wine-red obi was decorated with pink and yellow Spanish roses and her hair was down, falling into her eyes as she strode toward the man at the end of the hall. When she reached him her voice was harsh. " What did you do to scare Maru and Moro?"

" I did nothing."

" What are you hiding?"

" Not hiding, protecting."

" Why did you come here?"

" I have a wish."

" Then why did you need Watanuki's permission to enter the shop?"

" But I didn't give-" Watanuki began but Yuko waved away his protest with her hand. " You invited him in."

There was a pause and then the man spoke. " Perhaps, if we could talk elsewhere, with less light…?"

Yuko turned on her heel and swept off into the interior of the shop without speaking but the man followed her anyway.

They entered a small room which was completely dark except for one candle on the low table. Here, the man slipped off his shoes and entered. He sat western style, and removed his scarf, unwinding it section by section.

Watanuki held his breath, sure that whatever the man was hiding, or protecting, was the remnant of some horrible disease. So he was surprised to see that the man was only pale, if unnaturally so.

His skin gleamed bone white in the light of the candle. Yuko sat across from him, her legs tucked under her in the traditional style, watching him intently. He removed his leather gloves with care and set them on the scarf. His hands were big with long, thin piano fingers, they were lover's hands, and Watanuki blushed at the thought. Off came the hat and another surprise accompanied this movement; blond hair. Light, pale blond hair fell from the confines of the hat and the man moved swiftly to tie it back into a gentlemen's ponytail with a black ribbon. Watanuki had to say that so far, the man's most impressive feature, aside from his height, were his dark blue eyes which stood out against the pale background of his face.

The traveling cloak was discarded and at last, the man was finished.

Yuko wasted no time. " What is your name?"

" Peterson, Jamie."

There was another, more dangerous pause.

When Jamie spoke again, his deep voice was soft, rumbling bass of a whisper. " So I take it that you've heard of me."

" Of course I have," Yuko answered just as softly, her expression lost due to lack of light. " Who hasn't?"

" Though I'm certainly not as infamous as my parents." He chuckled lightly and Yuko also smiled, the tension was broken.

" Too true, too true."

They laughed again, friendlier this time. And Watanuki found that he was mistaken; Jamie's best feature wasn't his eyes, it was his smile. Yes, his smile, filled with perfectly straight, pointy teeth…

Wait, pointy?

Yuko turned to look at Watanuki, she gestured to the man now sitting across from her. " Watanuki, I'd like you to meet Jamie Peterson, the world's oldest Vampire Prince."

Watanuki's eyebrow twitched, ah yes, it was going to be another one of those days…


	2. The Wish And What Came Of It

Hitsuzen Of The Heart

By, Jamie1317kast

Yuko flat-out refuses to grant Jamie's wish, which leads the shocked Watanuki to do some investigating on his own about the mysterious Vampire Prince…

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except Jamie Peterson, Ryoko Nefer, Rih, Ramses, and Sarah, so don't sue me. Don't steal them, or I'll hunt you down with Yuko's metal bat.

Rated PG-13, perhaps R later on.

The Wish And What Came Of It:

" And then…" Watanuki's eyes left Himawari and Domeki. His gaze traveled over the empty hallway. He was still in shock over what had happened after that.

… " _I have a wish." Jamie Peterson, the world's oldest Vampire Prince sat cross-legged across from Yuko in the dark room that was lit by a solitary candle. _

" _And what," Yuko spoke softly. " Is your wish?"_

_Jamie leaned forward so that the candle-light threw deep shadows down his chest. " I want you to bring her back."_

_At first Watanuki had been confused, and his confusion only deepened when Yuko shook her head. He looked between the two, not understanding, afraid to ask. _

" _You would…refuse me?" Tension filled the room again. " I come to you with a request and you…refuse?" His voice was low and dangerous, Watanuki had shivered._

" _The dead are dead." Yuko stood suddenly and looked down at the Prince with pity in her red eyes. " Even I cannot bring her back."_

_Jamie stood as well and grabbed Yuko's wrist tightly. She glanced down at his hand and then into his blue eyes. " Release me."_

" _Please."_

" _No."_

" _I'll pay you anything."_

" _I said no."_

" …_very well. May I at least lodge here for a while?"_

" _There is a price for that." Yuko studied him, trying to figure out what he was up to. She knew he only wanted to stay with her so that he could continue to try to persuade her into granting his wish._

_The Prince picked up his cloak and, letting go of Yuko, rummaged around in the black silk for a few moments. His hand emerged with a bottle of Spanish wine, made in Granada. He smiled again, and Watanuki found his eyes drawn to the Vampire's pointy killing teeth. " 1296, very good year, almost as old as I am." _

" _But not quite." Yuko replied with a smile. " Stay as long as you like."_

…

Domeki frowned. " And?"

" And what?" Watanuki flared.

" Don't you think that's a bit suspicious?"

" Eh?"

" How did he know Yuko-san likes to drink?"

It was Watanuki's turn to frown. " I don't know." He sighed, " Himawari-chan, what to you think?"

Himawari sparkled. " He sounds handsome."

" He sounds dangerous." Domeki shrugged.

" After work I think I'm going to do some research. I'd like to know exactly why he asked Yuko what he did and why she refused him."

" Good luck Watanuki-kun!" Himawari smiled.

" …be careful around him." Domeki studied Watanuki's face. " Don't forget you're dealing with a Vampire, and an ancient one at that."

There was a pause.

" Thanks…for the advice."

" Don't mention it. Hey, tomorrow, make some sukiyaki for me."

" ARGH!"

" Not here, not here, not here…" Watanuki's voice floated boredly through the shelves of the city library. " ARGH!" He shouted at last, overcome with frustration. " It's not here! He's not here! He's not here anywhere!"

He threw down the books he had been examining. " I can't stand this! He's got to be here somewhere!"

The librarian's assistant peeked her head around the corner. " Can I help you Watanuki-san?"

Sighing, he began to pick up the books and set them back on the shelves properly. " Nah. I'm fine- wait…" He turned to her, a sudden inspiration viciously kicking, demanding to be noticed, immediately. " Sarah-san, you read a lot of fiction and stuff like that, right?"

" Uh huh. So?"

" Do you perhaps know anything about…well…Vampires?" Watanuki felt stupid just asking the question.

" Of course I do." She rolled her eyes kindly. " What do you want to know? Do you want to know about novels, famous Vampires, historical inspirations-what?"

" Well, famous Vampires, really."

Sarah brushed back her short, electric blue hair. " There's, of course, Count Dracula-"

" Yes."

" Lestat."

" Who-oh yeah, go on."

" Selene."

" _Who?_"

" She was in that movie with the werewolves, Underworld."

" Oh."

" So sorry, that's all I can think of."

" There's got to be more than that!" Watanuki growled half to himself. Sarah's amused eyes watched him intently. " You're sure there's no one else? No one?"

" There might be…" A quirk of her eyebrow, a twitch of her upper lip, and Watanuki was hooked.

" Who?" His gaze was so intent that Sarah couldn't help herself. She burst out into peals of laughter. " What? What did I say?"

For a few, breathless moments Sarah could say nothing. At last, she brushed the tears from her eyes and composed herself. " There is...one."

" Who?"

" _Him._"

Watanuki smiled. " Tell me."

" Only if you buy me coffee."

He rolled his eyes, anything to slake his thirst of curiosity. " Oh, alright."

The front door of Yuko's shop slid open and Watanuki kicked his shoes off. " Sorry I'm late, I-"

" I'll take that, thank you." Jamie reached down and plucked the box of 25 munchkins from Dunkin' Donuts out of Watanuki's hand.

There was a pause, Sarah's voice drifted back to him.

" _Jamie's really very kind, you know. If you saw him on the street, you wouldn't think twice about trusting him. He has an honest face. Oh, and he likes jelly donuts."_

" HEY!" He snatched them back viciously. " I bought these with my own money! You can't have any!"

Jamie frowned humorously. " So I see."

Watanuki watched Jamie carefully as he made his way down the hall. It was all useless, however. He had protected his munchkins only to have them stolen immediately by Yuko. He sighed, why was it 'one of those days' everyday?

After Yuko was well fed she wandered out onto the porch. The entire deck was bathed in silver moonlight, as was the Vampire standing on it. Her red eyes observed Jamie for a few moments before going to sit on a few already-arranged cushions. " You know," She half smiled, watching the stars as well. " You're nothing like I expected you to be."

" Oh?" He quirked an eyebrow, but did not face her.

" You're so gentle."

There was another pause, and Yuko remembered what Clow Reed had told her about him.

" _There are no 'nice' Vampires in the world, remember that Yuko-chan. Prince Jamie Peterson may appear to be a handsome, caring man, but deep inside, he is a killer. He wants to kill, loves to kill. He is a monster, they are all monsters. Remember, the only Vampire who was ever kind was Luis, and even he had his own private bloodlust to deal with."_

" I am…a gentleman."

" You are a gentle man."

Jamie smiled and turned, dipping his head to acknowledge her win. " You are quite right, Yuko."

She threw a cushion at him to disguise her blush. " Don't be so familiar!"

" Right, right." A laugh, a…kind laugh.

Memories poured over Watanuki as he made his way home.

_He was the first…_

_After him were Ryoko, Rih, and Ramses, in that order. Little is known about them except that Ryoko's mad, and that Rih and Ramses still haven't given up on winning her heart, even after three thousand years._

_How old is Jamie? He remembered asking. _

_Old enough, she had replied._

_Is Ryoko madder than Renfield? He remembered the raving lunatic in Bram Stoker's Dracula._

_You bet she's madder than Renfield, but, you see, there's a problem which makes people immediately overlook her insanity._

_What?_

_Ryoko Nefer is the most beautiful woman in the world, I saw her once, it's true. Unfortunately, she's learned to harness her mental inability to function like a civilized person and to wield it precisely according to her will. She can now get what she wants, whatever she wants, as soon as she desires it. Men go mad for her, Vampiric women aspire to her beauty, and Jamie hates her._

_Why?_

_Because she was a…well, mistake. No, I take that back. He made her a Vampire in the hope that she would become his friend, his companion, for eternity._

_But he guessed wrong._

_Yup. It was because of her fragile, wracked state of mind at the time of her making that she went insane. She was his one mistake, and she remains his one regret. She tried to kill one of his girlfriends once, I heard about it second hand. After that, what had been only regret turned to unfathomable animosity._

_Ah. How do you know so much about Jamie?_

_How she had giggled then. _

_Ah, Watanuki-san, it's a secret._

Secrets, secrets, and more secrets! Watanuki was bored to tears of secrets! What was the big deal anyway! Watanuki stalked angrily down the streets, turned the corner and stopped dead.

There she was…

He only had a moment to remember what else Sarah had said before the full impact of her beauty swept over him.

_You will know her when you see her, Watanuki-san, make no doubt about it. It is her beauty, you see, that will ensnare you, and her kind of beauty kills._

Bathed in moonlight, she turned to face him slowly with her forever-blue blue eyes, her long, ink-black hair cascading easily around her dark face.

Ryoko Nefer.


End file.
